


The Deal

by Blake_Belladonna_Defence_Force



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Modern AU, abuse mention, idiots to lovers, references to abuse and manipulation, “What if we’re best friends that get married if we’re still single at 30?”, ”haha... just kidding... unless?”
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:21:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26493304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blake_Belladonna_Defence_Force/pseuds/Blake_Belladonna_Defence_Force
Summary: A promise is made between two best friends at the age of seventeen bit is it something that they’re going to keep?
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 11
Kudos: 216





	The Deal

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve had this idea for a while but the tumblr prompt of “I think I want to marry you.” gave me the perfect excuse to test it out 😁
> 
> Let me know if y’all would like more on this one!

Blake snorts a laugh as Yang tries (and fails) to catch a grape in her mouth, the small fruit hitting her best friend right between the eyes.

“Hey! Don’t laugh at me! I’ll get it eventually!”

“Yang. We’re in our last year of high school. If you haven’t picked up on it now, then you never will.” Blake’s giggle is loud and bright, her amber eyes sparkling happily as Yang pouts at her. “You’re still all limbs.”

“And tits, apparently.” Yang snorts, gesturing at her chest with an annoyed eye roll. “I mean seriously! It’s so fucking hard to find a decent sport bra in my size that’s actually gonna do its damn job! I’m out here tryn’a get buff, not a fucking concussion”

Blake lets out a small squeal of laughter at the mental image  _ that  _ conjures up, falling back against her pillows as Yang grins goofily at her, a pleased light entering her eyes as she watches Blake try to recover.

“I’m glad that the idea of me getting knocked out by my own boobs is so amusing to you.” Yang chuckles softly, her smile turning softer and more fond. “So… know what college you wanna get into? We’ve got what… six months until applications start?”

“Um- ahem. Yeah. I want to go to Kuo Kuana in Menagerie. Um… dad’s from there and they have a really good course for politics and law.” Blake says hesitantly, her ears pinning back against her head as she looks away sadly. “I… don’t think I’m going to Beacon.”

“Hey! That’s okay. It’s not like that’s going to stop us from being friends, right?” Yang’s voice is warm and reassuring, matching her face when Blake finds the courage to look up. She reaches out to grab Blake’s hands, squeezing them tightly. “No distance could ever change the fact that you’re always going to be my best friend. Okay? I love you, little shit that you are.”

“I love you too, you big sap.” Blake huffs a laugh, reaching up to wipe her eyes as she gives her best friend a fond smile. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

“Hey, don’t get all sappy on me yet. I’ve yet to show you what I put in your freezer while you were showering.”

“... you didn’t. You  _ did not  _ bring over salted caramel ice cream!”

“I totally did.”

“Oh my  _ God.” _ Blake groans, putting the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically and pretending to swoon into Yang’s lap. “I think I want to marry you.”

“Eh, I’d be down for that. Getting to spend my life with my best friend?” Yang shrugs nonchalantly, a teasing grin on her face. “Who wouldn’t want that?”

“Oh, please.” Blake snorts, reaching up to poke Yang’s cheek, a light smirk crossing her face. “You’re going to go to Beacon. You’re going to become a mechanical engineer. You’re going to meet a gorgeous girl with fair hair with blue eyes that you’re going to make an utter fool of yourself in front of and then you’ll somehow still sweep her off her feet and get married.” The thought makes her heart twinge strangely so she’s quick to add onto her thought. “And I’ll be your maid of honour and completely embarrass you when I give my speech.”

“Uh huh. Sure. And you’re probably gonna meet some person that’s like… smart enough to keep up with you and somehow knows how to deal with your  _ sass. _ ” Yang laughs, curling her arms around Blake and pulling her into a tight hug. “But hey! If we don’t meet our perfect people, you know what we should do?”

“What? Get married if we’re still single at the age of thirty?”

“Exactly!” Yang pulls back and grins at Blake, her eyes bright and playful. “C’mon. What do you say?”

“Okay, Okay. I seriously doubt that  _ you  _ could be single at that age. You could have anyone you want like  _ that.” _ Blake emphasises with a snap of her fingers, ignoring how her chest aches at the thought. “But sure. If neither of us are married, if we’re both single, let’s get married.”

“Well… not everyone.” Yang says softly, looking away from Blake for a moment before turning back with a smile. “But I’ll be holding you to that, Belladonna.”

But it was a plan that would lay forgotten for many years as red hair, bull horns and blue eyes with a charming smile forced their way into Blake’s life the moment she left for Kuo Kuana. They separated Blake from the people that mattered most to her for far too long. But when Blake finally claws her way from the shadows, she is greeted not by the hatred and anger that she expected, but by the compassion and love that she had been tricked into believing that she doesn’t deserve.

And when she finally finds her courage to talk to the girl who she had once called her best friend, she finds a woman standing in her place. Yang is no longer the gangly teenage girl that Blake once knew. Her body had filled out, her arms now much more muscular, her shoulders broader and her eyes wiser. She’s hesitant in reconnecting with Blake, hurt and anger making kaleidoscopes in her eyes. But she invites Blake in and offers her a seat at her kitchen table with a stiff nod and a cup of tea. As Blake, scared and shaking, explains herself, explains why she broke off contact all of those years ago, she watches as Yang’s expression shifts. Hurt becomes concern. Concern bleeds into righteous and protective anger. And anger becomes heartbreak as Blake lowers her head in shame and apologises for being so weak, for being such a coward.

Blake flinches, recoiling anxiously as Yang stands and crosses over to her. She kneels before Blake and takes her hand gently, slow and cautious and predictable, and, with tear filled eyes, tells her that she doesn’t blame her. That she had only ever wanted Blake to be safe and happy. That she is so,  _ so  _ grateful to see that she found the courage to leave.

When Blake cries, Yang scoops her into her strong arms and holds her and it’s so painfully similar to their high school days that Blake’s sobs become louder, wracking her bruised and battered soul and body.

And Blake heals. Bit by bit, step by step, she heals. She has relapses and setbacks, agonising memories flooding her dreams and cutting into her waking moments painfully. But Blake heals. Not only herself but the relationships that she had left behind; with her family, her friends… and Yang.

She’s seventeen when she makes a deal with her best friend to marry her at thirty. She’s nineteen when a boy convinces her to break her own heart and leave Yang behind. She’s twenty-eight when she finds the strength to leave him and twenty-nine when she finds the courage to reach out to Yang once more…

And she’s thirty years old when she remembers a promise that two young girls made thirteen years ago.


End file.
